


A Further Complication

by BlackandBlueMagpie



Series: Complications [6]
Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Intersex Character, M/M, Muslim Character, People get drunk, People get together, Stag/Hen Do, These two things are unrelated, Trans Characters, wedding fic!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-07-12 12:25:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7103302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackandBlueMagpie/pseuds/BlackandBlueMagpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cosette and Marius are finally getting their act together and planning. Wedding planning, family planning, home planning. But as always there are more layers to a story, old friends, new problems, blossoming relationships and additional complications, that must be dealt with along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 9 Weeks to Go

Cosette almost runs into the lady as she walks out of the lift. Marius had left his lunch, he’s prone to doing it, sometimes she thinks he does it on her day off just to have an excuse to see her during the day, so she’d taken a detour on the way to the department store, leaving Musichetta and ‘Ferre in the lobby. Marius had shot her a sheepish grin, leaning up to kiss her before she left, and then she’d ended up here, face to face with the woman she nearly crashed into. The women is only slightly taller than her, with her dark hair thrown up in a messy bun. Her clothes say job interview. Cosette murmurs an apology, then pauses as she actually meets the woman’s dark eyes.  
“Éponine?” Éponine’s eyes widen a little.  
“Cosette? You’re uh…”  
“I was dropping off my boyfriend’s lunch.” She smiles.  
“Marius right?”  
“Yes…” Cosette frowns, she doesn’t remember if they’d been together when she and Éponine lost touch in her second year of university, even so Éponine’s memory surprises her.  
“He’s interviewing me today,” Éponine explains. “Only secretarial but it’s very sweet of him. I was just heading up there actually…” She looks slightly nervous, like she wants to get away.  
“Oh that sounds about right. We’ll have to do coffee sometime. Hang on…” She digs in her purse and finds one of her business cards. “That has my number on.”  
“Oh… Thanks.” Éponine has a reserved smile, and she never noticed before. “I’d really better get on but I’ll text.”  
“Sounds great.” Cosette pauses a moment, before deciding to hug her. “It really is good to see you.”  
“Old friend?” Musichetta asks as Cosette approaches again.  
“Éponine and I used to know each other when we were really little, though we didn’t get on so well then… But when I got to university we met again by chance and began actually talking about things and we got on really well. And then managed to lose touch again.” She sighs. “I hadn’t realised she knew Marius though…” She pauses, remembering the familiarity Éponine had used.  
“I’m sure she’ll text you.” Musichetta reassures her. “Until then we have the matter of finding dresses.”  
“Of course, it just threw me.” Cosette smiles, linking her arms with the two girls. “Right, lunch then dresses. Grantaire said he’d meet us later with Alexis.”  
“Oh, he’s the lucky one who gets to join us in dress shopping?” Combeferre grins. “I was kind of hoping you’d have dragged Enjolras down here.”  
“I thought about it, but he’s at work today. So it’s unlucky for R.”  
He’s already waiting for them outside the department store when they eventually arrive, Alexis holding onto the material of his jeans. She has pigtails in today, still surprisingly in one piece given she’s inherited Grantaire’s unruly mop of curls. She recognises them a mile off, and makes a move toward them before Grantaire takes hold of the back of her dungarees, crouching down to warn her about running off. Once the girls have gotten a bit nearer he allows her to run on ahead of him, though he catches up more than easily enough.  
She pauses just before she gets to them, obviously completely uncertain of which one to hug first, before turning back around to Grantaire and holding out her arms. Grantaire bursts out laughing, scooping her up in a bundle of buttercup yellow and white. Cosette suspects Grantaire’s generally the one in charge of clothing, though she may have misjudged Enjolras, as she’s always so perfectly made up whatever her clothing mood. Today it’s dandelion print dungarees, with a yellow top underneath, and matching hair bands.  
“You can say hello.” Grantaire tells her, with a kiss to her temple. “You know they’re friendly.” Alexis considers this, with one of her little pouts, before holding out her arms to Combeferre. It’s hardly surprising, she babysits a lot, and grins widely as she takes Alexis and perches her on her hip.  
“And how are we doing?” She asks.  
“We went swim-ing.”  
“Sorry we were a bit late.” Cosette tells Grantaire as they head into the shop. “Marius forgot his lunch and we bumped into an old friend.”  
“Oh that’s alright, we’d only just got here ourselves what with getting dry and having lunch.” Grantaire reassures her. “Alexis was very excited to see you all though.”  
“We noticed.” Musichetta chuckles, holding onto Alexis’s hand when she holds it out to her. “Hello you.” Grantaire smiles fondly, then looks back around to make sure he doesn’t walk into the door – only just in time. Then he pauses.  
“Um… Where do you even start with this Cosette?” He asks, frowning at the floors they're confronted with.  
“Well, first we find the bridal shop, pick out a few dresses in the correct sort of colours and styles and get trying on.”  
“You have the colour scheme already?” He asks warily.  
“You know nothing about weddings do you? We have to have the scheme before we can shop for dresses. God you’re going to be terrible if you ever get married. Hire me okay?”  
“Who said anything about marriage?” Grantaire raises an eyebrow at her but doesn’t look even half as freaked out as she might have expected.  
“Well I am sorry.” Cosette pouts, looking teasing.  
“Colour schemes Cosette.” Combeferre prompts.  
“Dark greens and pale peachy pinks.” She says proudly. “I have a whole things of swatches and it looks gorgeous.”  
“Sorry you had to be dragged along.” Musichetta leans across to Grantaire. “You’re going to hear so much wedding talk.” He considers it a moment, plotting.  
“Mmm… How about I take Alexis, Cosette, and we can go find some stuff she likes and then show you.”  
“Are you up to that?”  
“Well I’m not going to be much help with you. You want to go try on some fancy clothes?” He asks Alexis with a grin, who nods. “And then we can come back and these girls will be all beautiful.”  
“You charmer you.” Combeferre chuckles, placing Alexis down so she can take Grantaires hand and begin toddling off in the opposite direction of anything else.  
“This way.” Grantaire nudges her with a kind smile. “Right, we’ll be back in a little bit.”  
The three of them soon set to work trying to find dresses in green, because that’s the colour that suits Musichetta and Combeferre best they decide after a short while of deliberation involving the make-up counters and lots of swatching. They begin making their way through the surprisingly small selection, finding a long green sleeveless dress, then a layered dress that one of them holds up and then they all veto entirely.  
“How are we feeling about lace?” Chetta asks, pulling out a full length dress with lace sleeves. Combeferre studies it for a while, considering.  
“What’s your dress like again Cosette?”  
“V neck, cap sleeves, lace back, fish tail.” Cosette lists off the basics quickly.  
“So maybe not lace for us? I feel like it would be hard for me to layer too…”  
“True… Uh…”  
“I found these two, they’re slightly different styles too so we wouldn’t completely match.” ‘Ferre holds out two dresses, both with corsages at the waist, but one has a V-neck with a mesh strap sleeve and the other has a higher neckline in the same mesh.  
“Those are nice, put them in the maybes.” Cosette agrees.  
“Any others?”  
“There are an unfortunate lack of greens…”  
“Not unless you want khaki.” Musichetta sighs.  
“Do they do multiway dresses?” Combeferre enquires.  
“Oh that’s true!” Cosette vanishes to find an assistant, leaving the other two to shrug at each other. Eventually she returns with two emerald green dresses over her arms. “These two are the best colour wise, you fancy heading for the changing rooms?”  
Over the next twenty minutes or so they try on the dresses they found, some going straight into the no pile, there’s a couple of maybes. The multiway dresses take longer than expected to figure out, Chetta getting a little frustrated by how to tie hers. Combeferre’s proves easier, going for the so called ‘kimono’ style, giving her some sleeve and a higher neckline. Eventually Musichetta decides to go for a twisted back, and seems satisfied with the affair.  
“This is a yes.” She nods, looking in the mirror. “This I like.”  
“’Ferre?” Cosette asks as the other studies herself in the mirror.  
“Yeah this is good, I can layer it well and I’m pretty sure I have a scarf in the right colour too.”  
“We haven’t found a winner have we?”  
“We may well have. Shouldn’t we check where Grantaire’s got to?”  
“You two get changed, I’ll go find him. Make sure Alexis hasn’t dragged him into the toy section.” Cosette chuckles, pushing herself off of the seat and out of the changing rooms. If they’ve made it that far Grantaire will likely be leaving several pounds less well off. She finds Grantaire pretty quickly, waiting outside with a basket of clothes and Alexis sitting on his knee giggling. “There you are, we took longer than expected.”  
“Nah, we’ve been having fun haven’t we?”  
“Yeah!” Alexis grins up at her. “Found lotsa stuff.”  
“Ooo, let’s see. I hope it’s all relevant.” Cosette teases, settling next to her, and Grantaire begins extracting things.  
“We have a white dress,” He holds up a dress with a lace top, then a long chiffon skirt. “A suit, because Alexis loved it,” It’s grey, with either a green or dusty pink waistcoat and tie. “And finally another dress.” This one has a cream lace top, then a dusty pink skirt cinched in with a ribbon.  
“Oh they’re all so cute. You’re really getting an eye in for good clothes.” Cosette grins, studying them. Grantaire shrugs. “I think I like the suit… And the pink dress.”  
“You want to go try them on? So Cosette can see how you look?” Grantaire asks Alexis who nods with a grin, hopping off of his lap.  
They emerge with the two green dresses, and both the pink dress and suit with pink accessories.  
“I thought she might like to choose.” Cosette defends herself.  
“You mean you saw her in both and decided she was too precious to say no to?” Grantaire grins. Cosette pauses with a twist of her lips. “Come on, you can admit it. She’s my kid, I know she’s too precious to say no to.” Grantaire hikes her back on his hip to properly balance them. “You want me to pay?”  
“No it’s fine. I was the one who asked her to be flower girl. And chose both outfits…”  
“Actually we may have encouraged her.” Musichetta chimes in.  
“Enjolras is going to have another talk to the group about ‘not spoiling her rotten.’” Combeferre mimics with a supressed grin.  
“Oh she’ll be fine.” Grantaire laughs. “Say thank you to Cosette.” He adds to Alexis who smiles shyly.  
“Thank you Auntie ‘sette.”  
“That’s okay.” She smiles, dropping a kiss onto Alexis’s hair who squirms happily. “You’re going to look perfect.”  
“Well, if you’re not going to let me pay for the clothes then I’m buying us all coffee.”  
“That sounds perfect, but first we need jewellery quickly.” Cosette reminds him. “It won’t be long.”  
“It’s your wedding, it’s fine by me.”  
The jewellery they pick up is simple, basic pearl drop earrings and matching necklaces, along with a simple floral hair comb for Musichetta. Cosette herself is having a larger comb, she tells them, with similar pearl flowers but layers of string pearls beneath. Alexis, already bored by the whole affair sits, legs straight out, watching them poutily. That is until Cosette finds a small tiara and places it, with some relish, atop her head.  
“There! You look just like royalty.” She grins, fishing out her phone to take a picture as Alexis bites her lip as she grins. Grantaire chuckles as he watches.  
“She’ll want one you know.” Then, in addition as Alexis looks up expectantly. “Maybe for your eighteenth.” She considers arguing for a moment, but Cosette finds something else, lifting her up to look at the hairclips Musichetta’s trying to choose from. “Don’t ever let me mention ‘eighteen’ again.” Grantaire mutters to Combeferre, who pats his arm.  
“You’ve got a while yet.”  
“You see you say that…”  
Once everyone’s content with their purchases they make it to a small café for coffee and cake, which turns out to be much more oversized than expected, so they sit around chatting, slowly making their way through their slices. Grantaire has Alexis on his knee, sticking her finger in the butter icing of his cake slice and licking it off with relish.  
“Oh! Éponine texted.” Cosette grins. “She’d like to go for coffee.”  
“Éponine? Isn’t that Marius’s friend?” Grantaire asks and Cosette frowns.  
“How did you know they were friends and I didn’t?”  
“Uh… Well when he was living with Courfeyrac she popped in a couple of times. She seemed lovely.”  
“She is…” Cosette sighs, typing on her phone. “She just never mentioned him before we lost touch.”  
“When was it?” Combeferre enquires, spearing a piece of cake on her fork.  
“Beginning of second year or so. I guess Marius and I had only just started going on dates but we knew each other before then…”  
“I’m sure there’s a reason, and it won’t be anything sinister.” Musichetta adds. “Things slip people’s minds.”  
In Grantaire’s arms Alexis begins to get grouchy, grumbling to herself as the conversation continues, before breaking into quiet sniffles. Grantaire rubs her back gently, shifting her so she can rest her head on his shoulder.  
“Okay, okay I know you’re getting tired.” He finishes the last mouthful of his coffee. “Shall we go and see if Daddy’s home yet?” He gets a small nod and an ‘hm’ in return.  
“Thank you for the coffee Grantaire, and putting up with all the dress picking.” Cosette chuckles.  
“Eh.” He shrugs his free shoulder. “It’s fine, we had fun.” There’s another mumble from Alexis and Grantaire pushes himself up, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Okay, we’re going. We’ll see you next week.” He tells the rest of them with a smile. The girls wave their goodbyes, smiling fondly.  
“I’m still amazed at how well those two have settled into fatherhood.” Musichetta comments.  
“It’s so adorable.” Cosette leans on her hand. “I want one…”  
“You’ve got a wedding to get through first.” Combeferre chuckles.  
“I know, I know! Not right now, but… Some when.”


	2. 8 Weeks to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosette thinks, for one horrible moment that’s fleeting enough but entirely there, that Éponine might not show. It was her own fault that she got here early, sipping on the drink that Grantaire brought over when he took pity on her, but it’s a habit. An anxiety inducing habit, but a habit nonetheless. She does trust Éponine, she has no reason not to, but sitting alone in a café for twenty minutes does something to you.

Cosette thinks, for one horrible moment that’s fleeting enough but entirely there, that Éponine might not show. It was her own fault that she got here early, sipping on the drink that Grantaire brought over when he took pity on her, but it’s a habit. An anxiety inducing habit, but a habit nonetheless. She does trust Éponine, she has no reason not to, but sitting alone in a café for twenty minutes does something to you. She takes another sip, and glances around the small café/bar. She won’t admit it, but she may have chosen the venue for it’s familiarity, and for the man serving, so quick and easy to come up with lines that just melt away the tension. She hadn’t liked that about Grantaire the first time they met, hadn’t liked how easily he turned attention away, avoided subjects with self-depreciation and jokes. But Marius liked him, so she’d tried and now she realises what all that humour had been for, what it had been hiding. He doesn’t use it so much now, and that thought makes her smile a little, at how well he’s managing.   
“You always were a day dreamer.” Comes the voice, with its light east-end twang and the barest hint of a smile, or perhaps a smirk. Cosette jumps a mile, eyes flitting rapidly to the side to find Éponine with an amused smile playing on her lips. Her entire persona today is a complete contrast to last week. She’s got a lace top on under a leather jacket, with ripped jeans and biker boots that are a complete contrast to Cosette's own spring like attire. The deep red of her lips turns up a little more as Cosette breathes. “Don’t die on me.”  
“You snuck up on me.”  
“Hardly.”  
“Please tell me you weren’t awkwardly standing there for like five minutes or something.” Éponine waves her hand dismissively as she settles on the chair opposite.   
“I’d only just got there.” Cosette exhales a sigh of relief. “What were you so tied up in?”  
“Honestly? Literally nothing.”  
“Not wedding planning?”  
“Did Marius mention it?” Éponine shrugs.   
“You can never get the guy to shut up about something he’s excited for. Besides, that’s a beautiful ring.” Cosette chuckles, twisting it on her finger.   
“How did the interview go?”   
“Oh, it was really great. Everyone was lovely, which was a bonus. My last job was… Eehhhh…”  
“Shit?”  
“I was going to be more polite about it, but yeah. Not the place I intended getting stuck for going on six years. But this one looks better, so come Monday I can go tell them where to stick it.” She laughs.   
“That’s great news.”   
They spend the next coffee or so catching up on life and everything in it. The end of university, and then Cosette explains her gluten free baking business and how it all came about and Éponine mentions she’s living locally and that they’d basically been less than a mile apart all along once Cosette and Marius moved in together, Cosette even brings up the group and their friends lives but eventually the topic turns to the inevitable.   
“Marius didn’t mention me then?” Éponine sips her coffee.   
“Well, by the time we were properly together we’d lost touch I guess.”   
“They were… Partly connected.” Éponine admits, turning her cup in her hands, looking like she has something to get off her chest. “Marius lived next door, because of him suddenly moving into a house and all the issues that caused." Marius had intended to live with his grandfather through university, but a family argument had put paid, leaving him to find accommodation short notice. "Its how we met. But, well I may have had a massive… Crush.”   
“You never mentioned it.”   
“Well he was completely taken with you at the time, for a long time before you got together. And I heard most of it, I suppose in second year most of it went to Courfeyrac…” She ponders. “Anyway, it just got hard to be around both of you and with Marius being my crush… It sounds so stupid now and I wish it had never happened or I’d told you or something-“  
“Hey, it’s okay. I mean… We were pretty full on.” Cosette admits. “I probably should’ve been less… Braggy.”   
“Well it didn’t help that after your autumn term I decided to move out of my parents, at last, and so I was working nearly constantly to pay my rent. But it was good, you know. Azelma and Gavroche ended up living with me too. That was interesting…” They share a chuckle at the memory of the two younger siblings. Cosette herself had fostered with the Thernadier’s before she was 8, and Valjean had adopted her, but all of the siblings later ended up in various foster homes shortly thereafter. Gavroche especially, having a few years between him and the girls, had ended up separated from them, and rarely returned to his parents.   
“That must’ve been lovely.”   
“Well, having a nineteen and fifteen year old was certainly interesting… But it was nice to have them both under one roof again. Gavroche still lives with me most of the time, but he’s made it into university.” She practically beams at this, she and Azelma had never had a chance, both missing large amounts of school due to moving around so much but she’d always hoped her clever younger brother would make it. He’d always been clever, growing up too quickly, learning what he needed to know and sometimes being a little too smart for his own good. “Whether he’ll actually use the degree specifically or not is another matter, but history is a good one to have whatever happens.”  
“I did mean to use mine.” Cosette chuckles. “But then baking got in the way.”  
“Still, that’s fantastic. I always knew you’d make it.” Éponine smiles. “Especially with Mr Fauchelevant, sometimes I wished he’d have taken me too.” She admits. “But I try not to dwell, I’m doing well now so hopefully it’s upward from here.” 

Marius glances up from his work as she slips back into the house. A coffee had turned into two, and then into a drink as she and Éponine had talked. She's now starving, and a little (or maybe more) tipsy on the wine they shared on a practically empty stomach.   
“Sorry, things ran on a little.” She smiles, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips.   
“No, it’s fine! Dinner’s just in the oven.”   
“Fantastic.” Her smile widens to a grin, the only reason they’d really parted was in search of food, Éponine giving a wry smile as she pointed out Gavroche would likely be digging into some experimental food. Apparently if you give him a recipe he's a great cook, but left to his own devices... “Good day?”  
“Productive, especially without you to distract me.” He teases, and she rolls her eyes.   
“That’s not my fault.”   
“I wasn’t complaining.” He points out with a smile as she slips onto his lap and peers at his work. It’s all gibberish to her, of course, languages were unfortunately never her forte despite numerous attempts by Marius to teach her something, but she makes an attempt at trying to read one or two words. “Nothing interesting, just invoices.”   
“Éponine was excited about the job.”   
“I hope it won’t bore her too much.” He chuckles. “But anything sounded like an improvement from her old job.”   
“So she said.”   
“You had a good chat then?” He asks, interlacing his fingers on her hip.   
“Yeah it was… Well lovely. To finally catch up and know what’s going on in her life and start being friends again.” Marius presses a kiss to her cheek, smiling.   
“I’m happy for you.” 

It’s only later, when they’re lounging on the sofa full of food and watching a film that a thought occurs to her.   
“Do you think it would be alright if I asked Éponine to be my bridesmaid?” Marius half lifts his head from the arm of the sofa to better frown at her.  
“Well yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”  
“I don’t know, we’ve not been in touch for ages, I thought you might think it odd.” Marius shrugs, leaning back on his hands.   
“She’s my friend too, even if you didn’t know that until recently. It wouldn’t be weird.”   
“Great!” She’s half trapped under his legs, so does an awkward folded lean, scrabbling with one arm to reach for her phone. Marius chuckles, pausing the film as she calls up Éponine. There’s a long delay, in which Cosette fizzes slightly, still tipsy from her empty-stomach drink of the evening. Then a click.  
“Hello?”   
“Ép! It’s Cosette.”   
“Hey, this is… Unexpected.” She laughs, slightly awkward, slightly amused.   
“I know, but I have something to ask. Which I should’ve asked in person… But I want to ask you now so I’ll come out with it. I’d like you to be my bridesmaid.”   
There’s a pause, long enough for her to consider taking back her previous question and just saying nevermind, stupid plan, goodnight! But then Éponine exhales.   
“Even after what I said today? About… Everything.”  
“But we’re friends now, and I know if we hadn’t split I would have wanted you there. And everything else is in the past, unless it would make you feel awkward.” She considers, thinking about the whole issue with Marius, but Éponine had reassured her it was a long dead crush, with a few partners, and one long term boyfriend who she had more than felt the same way for.   
“I don’t deserve to be up there.”   
“You do. I think you do, and I want you there. Even if you’re not bridesmaid you should come. Gavroche and Azelma too.” There’s another pause as Éponine considers, and Cosette can see her chewing on her painted lips.   
“Alright. Provisionally I’ll say yes, but I’ll give you a definite in the week. Okay?”   
“That’s great.” Cosette grins.   
“That wasn’t a promise!” Éponine laughs.   
“I know! But it’s a step.”   
“Alright weirdo. Text me about coffee and whatever else.”  
“I will, you can meet the girls!”  
“You’re tipsy, I’m saying goodnight.” Éponine chuckles again. Cosette says her goodnight and leans back on the arm of the sofa.  
"I got a probably."   
"She'll say yes I suspect. Especially once she meets the rest of them. Well, she knows some of them, but she'll love Chetta." He pauses. "Actually they might be dangerous together."  
"Well it'll be hard to keep them apart." Cosette giggles.   
"Alright, just make sure 'Ferre has a big role in planning your hen okay?"  
"Actually, I was thinking we should do a joint one." Cosette ponders, the thought has been playing through her mind for a few days. It seems to make sense to her, so she explains when Marius shoots her a questioning look. "Well look how much our friend group overlaps. It'd be far more fun to do a joint do so we didn't have to divide them up. And we could do something utterly ridiculous."   
"Like?"  
"Well I've not got that far yet." She pulls a face. "There was no point planning something great and then you saying no."   
"I wouldn't have done, a joint do sounds so much better than just most of our group going out and getting smashed twice."  
"Like they'd complain about that." Cosette scoffs.   
"I don't know, Chetta would probably complain about missing Bossuet's traditional table dance..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today I'm afraid! And no updates for the next two weeks, unless I am productive and have internet access...  
> Anyway, enjoy!


	3. 2 Weeks to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosette studies herself in the mirror, considering if her hairstyle is too much for what is, in all honestly, basically a night out with friends. Okay, technically it is her hen do, combined for sake of ease with Marius’s stag, considering how many friends they share, but she’s been worry all day if she’s too dressed up or not dressed up enough. Among other things, will everyone like their choice of restaurant, is it too expensive, what about drinks after, should they have just done something at home instead, will everyone like Éponine?

Cosette studies herself in the mirror, considering if her hairstyle is too much for what is, in all honestly, basically a night out with friends. Okay, technically it is her hen do, combined for sake of ease with Marius’s stag, considering how many friends they share, but she’s been worry all day if she’s too dressed up or not dressed up enough. Among other things, will everyone like their choice of restaurant, is it too expensive, what about drinks after, should they have just done something at home instead, will everyone like Éponine?

This final though she says aloud, having voiced the others to Marius so much he’s taken to poking her in the ribs every time she worries – she suspects the reasoning behind the concern is more taking her mind off the actual wedding which will likely have her just as jittery.

“Well she knows a few of them, Courf, Grantaire…” Marius pauses a moment. “Well, and the girls too.”

“I suppose.” Cosette sighs, repining a section then swivelling on her chair to face him. His hair’s still lightly damp from his shower, shirt slightly more unbuttoned than is smart, but showing the smattering of constellations across his collarbone, that she loves to press gentle kisses to. He furrows his brow just a fraction.

“You’re not annoyed I didn’t tell you?”

“No, no. Thinking about other things. I mean, it would have been nice, given how close you are but I suppose I never introduced her to you either. And things happen.” She smiles.

“Looking forward to tonight?”

“To a night out with our friends, there’s nothing not to like.” She suspects the evening will end with most of them none too sober, probably with karaoke because Bahorel has a talent for finding places with it, possibly a few more risqué things than normal if she knows how a few will take advantage of the ‘hen/stag’ side of things. Marius watches her with his big doe eyes.

“You look beautiful.”

“You would say that.” She pushes herself up from the stool to sit on his lap, pressing a kiss to his lips. Marius’s compliments are genuine, but frequent, to everyone he knows well. She adores it about him.

“You know we have a bit of time.” He shrugs, cheekily, and Cosette giggles.

“I’ve only just got my hair right.”

“And if we wait for the next half an hour you’ll only change it anyway.” He points out, and she lets out a small huff of indignation, though he’s right. “Come on, it’s our night… If we can’t have fun now when can we?” She considers it for less than a minute, conceding a not especially reluctant defeat by pressing her lips firmly to Marius’s again.

As the guests of honour – or, in fact, the hosts of the evening – are late the group has set about entertaining themselves, or in Courfeyrac’s case, pouring over the menu with the occasional exaggerated whine of discomfort.

The table they were supposed to be sitting at has already been partly dismantled, splitting out into turned chairs better for talking in smaller groups. Grantaire is discussing work with Jehan, with sporadic pauses for Jehan to pat their boyfriends’ hair gently.

“They said eight…” Courfeyrac grumbles, head on the table. “And I’ve not had a chance to eat since lunch.”

“Poor hard done by thing.”

“R!” A voice calls across, and Grantaire glances up to spot Éponine approaching their table, already having said her hellos to Combeferre and Musichetta, the former watching her leave.

“Hey, Ép!” He grins, it’s been a few years since they actually saw each other but she looks largely the same as he remembers in her shorts and a tied up blouse, hair in waves around her face – though it is more reddish in tint now. He stands to hug her, but finds himself being whacked on the arm instead.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a kid!?”

“Hey!” He protests. “I seem to recall it was you who had my number.” She pauses, frowns then concedes.

“That may be on me…”

“Thank you.”

“Okay, you can have a hug now.” She mutters, giving him a tight squeeze. “Congratulations you idiot.” Grantaire pulls away enough to introduce her to the others in their little group, Courfeyrac she already knows from when Marius lived with him, but the others are new.

“This is Enjolras, my boyfriend and father of my child. Not necessarily in that order.” Grantaire grins, as Enjolras raises a wry eyebrow and stands a little to shake Éponine’s hand. “And Jehan, they were my university roommate and now they’re Courfeyrac’s partner.”

“Nice to meet you both, you don’t mind if I grill you on what these two idiots have been up to the last couple of years? Marius is rubbish at passing on the gossip.”

“That’s because he’s a nice guy.” Grantaire teases her, then lets out a ‘hey’ as she steals his seat to better talk to the group.

“I do it out of care R, you know that.” She smiles sweetly, though the deep red of her lips counteracts the effect.

By the time Marius and Cosette actually do arrive, looking marginally embarrassed and very apologetic, Éponine might as well have lived the last years with them and Enjolras looks a little frazzled, though Jehan remains cool, a slight smirk on their lips.

“She’s full on.” Enjolras murmurs to Grantaire, then, with a smile. “I can see why you get on.”

“That doesn’t entirely sound like a compliment…”

The meal itself, now the hosts are actually here, goes off with surprisingly few hitches. The drinks after are marginally more hectic.

It all starts when Bahorel and Bossuet suggest getting cocktails, in a little bar they both know well. It, of course, sounds like a wonderful idea at the time, everyone lightly buzzing on a couple of glasses of wine each. Of course the pair never mentioned that said cocktail bar does theme nights, so they walk into the bar to find everyone dressed in flares and loud shirts, 70s disco blasting over the speakers. Musichetta and Cosette, both more than tipsy, throw themselves into it with loud giggles, dragging a few people onto the dance floor while the rest go to get drinks. The drinks themselves, Jehan is delighted to discover, are served in tea pots, with biscuits on the side. So together the pour cocktails and talk over the music. A few glasses each later, and more than a little ‘happy’, the group again end up on the dance floor. This is a far more energetic affair than the first round of dancing: Cosette gets picked up – dirty dancing style – Jehan ends up crowd surfing and comes back with a pair of novelty sunglasses, Bahorel somehow ends up gaining a wig, Enjolras actually agrees to dance and surprises himself, and at the end of the evening Joly ends up dancing on a table, trying to drag zer partners up with zim.

By the time they all tumble out, at gone one in the morning, there is some talk of finding a club, but eventually the protestation of empty stomachs and the fact that they aren’t actually students anymore sends them in search of a chippy, and from there back to the nearest flat. A few dance along the most empty road, Éponine pulling Combeferre, surprisingly cheerful for being the only sober one out of the group, into a spin with a wide grin.

“I haven’t danced like that since graduation.” Chetta groans as she flops onto her sofa, kicking her shoes off. “I wouldn’t have worn new shoes if I’d known!”

“But they are gorgeous.” Éponine points out.

“And it’s a pre-wedding do, you didn’t really expect it to end sober and early did you?” Grantaire chuckles, digging through the mass of paper surrounding his chips. Enjolras immediately steals one, then regrets the decision instantly, fanning his tongue. “Hot?”

“Don’t you sound smug.” Enjolras mutters, holding the rest out to him.

“Everyone had fun though?” Cosette, who’s ended up with ‘bride’ written on her forehead in eyeliner and a flower in her hair, asks.

“Nah, we hated it.” Courfeyrac tells her dryly.

“Might regret it in the morning.” Feuilly has Bahorel draped across their lap, wig mostly askew. Joly raises a hand in agreement, Musichetta checking zir knee after ze manged to fall off the table ze had been dancing on.

“It’s your own fault for expecting Bossuet to be able to catch you.” She tells zem.

“I trust him!”

“Eat your chips.” She chuckles, kissing zir knee gently. “You’ll live.”

Everyone eventually begins staggering home around three, hugging their goodbyes.

“I’m so glad Auntie Mel has Alexis for the weekend.” Enjolras tells Grantaire as they reach their front door. “Because she would be way too excitable tomorrow for us.”

“Do you think she’ll grow out of the 6am starts or are we stuck with an early bird?” Grantaire mulls, managing to unlock the door at last.

“Mmm… I can’t even blame you for that…” Enjolras sighs, then considers. “We actually have the flat to ourselves…”

“I’m impressed you still have the energy at this time in the morning.”

“Are you complaining?”

“No yet.” Grantaire chuckles.

 

They wake up the next morning, rather later than they're used to, to a single text from Éponine:

_Do you think it’s going to be socially acceptable to still be hung over at the wedding?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter again, this one really fought me :/ I'm just bad at writing about nights out apparently!


	4. 0 Weeks to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know this is a wedding right?” Courfeyrac comments, returning looking particularly worn out from a particularly energetic number. He flops into the chair next to Combeferre and loosens his tie. “Have fun, dance, god knows I’ve done enough of it someone else should take over for once.”   
> “I’m not really the dancing type.”  
> “Sure you are, you’re just in a mood.” Courfeyrac grins. “You were up there with Alexis earlier.”  
> “Well she’s little and she wanted to dance.” Combeferre defends herself. Courfeyrac simply raises an eyebrow. “Fine I’m just thinking.”

The Marquee is hung with cream material and fairy lights, tiny lanterns hanging along ribbon with little baskets of pink and green florals. Each table had been laid up similarly, plant pots in the centre with a small topiary twinkling with small lights, and very, very Cosette place settings and cards.   
Of course this has now been primarily dismantled, people sitting around on chairs, or else on the dance floor. Combeferre watches them with a smile as Cosette kisses Marius gently on the lips.   
It’s been a wonderful day, all in all. The week had looked gloomy and damp, but by lunchtime the clouds were clearing just enough, sending them all into excited chatter as they got ready, sorting each-others make-up as the hair dresser sorted their hair, Alexis popping up everywhere.   
The ceremony itself had been equally lovely, Courfeyrac actually crying as the pair said their vows. Then there were photos to be taken, congratulations to be given, Alexis to change into the suit because after a morning with the girls she decided she actually rather wanted to dress like her Dads now.   
Combeferre will admit she’s impressed by the planning, though she never expected anything less from Cosette. Dinner was delicious, then each of them had been given a small bag with a handmade biscuit in, and a couple of extras for those involved in the actual wedding party.   
And then, of course, the speeches. Courfeyrac’s was as embarrassing for the newlyweds as expected, regaling tales of when Marius was his housemate and how utterly ridiculous the two were when they first got together. Cosette’s father was surprisingly emotional for a man who looked so stoic, looking at the pair with pride in his eyes as he spoke of his adopted daughter. Cosette herself had nearly been unable to do her speech by the time she took the microphone, but thanked everyone and told a couple of expertly chosen tales. Marius’s speech had been about as cheesy and soppy as expected, telling everyone of how they met and eventually got together and then a brief rundown of their lives so far and hopes for the future. Bahorel, photographer in chief had actually had to pause by the end of the round of speeches to look to Feuilly for support.   
After a dessert, and another round of champagne people had begun drifting onto the dance floor and toward the guestbook and getting fun photos done. She watches them now, Feuilly and Bahorel taking a selfie together with the trio.  
“You know this is a wedding right?” Courfeyrac comments, returning looking particularly worn out from a particularly energetic number. He flops into the chair next to her and loosens his tie. “Have fun, dance, god knows I’ve done enough of it someone else should take over for once.”   
“I’m not really the dancing type.”  
“Sure you are, you’re just in a mood.” Courfeyrac grins. “You were up there with Alexis earlier.”  
“Well she’s little and she wanted to dance.” Combeferre defends herself. Courfeyrac simply raises an eyebrow. “Fine I’m just thinking.”   
“Thinking’s dangerous.”   
“Never heard that before.” She mutters. Courfeyrac drags his chair around the edge of the table a little more so he can lean on her shoulder.   
“Come on, tell me all about it.”   
“It’s just…” Her eyes trail across to where Éponine is chatting to Grantaire, Alexis asleep on his shoulder. “I think I have a crush.”   
“A crush? On… On Cosette’s friend?”   
“Éponine, a little. I mean we’ve been chatting loads since Cosette asked her to be a bridesmaid, and outside of that too and she’s so lovely. She’s funny and smart and… Confident. Like she honestly doesn’t give a damn and… Mhmm.” She sighs, sipping her drink.   
“And you have what problem with this?” Courfeyrac asks. Combeferre looks at him with a seriously look and he holds up his hands. “Okay, hit me.”  
“Isn’t it obvious? ‘Not only is she trans but now she’s a lesbian too!’ I mean my parents have been so good with all of this, but my Grandparents would just… Probably.”   
“Enjolras’s parents are alright with him being gay.”  
“Because it’s their coping mechanism. ‘Oh he sleeps with men so he’s doing what a woman should do!’” She adds a flair of her hands for effect, then sighs heavily. “My parents know I’m a woman, that that’s how I’m supposed to be. But convincing the rest of the family was hard enough, the Imam had to get involved. I can’t add this to the mix too. I mean, I was so damn sure I wasn’t even interested in any of this. Sex definitely isn’t something I’m interested in but… There’s something.” She sighs, turning her glass between her hands. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t going to ramble like that. This is a wedding, you should be off being the best man.”  
“I am, I’m doing the traditional best man thing of hanging around the bridesmaid.”  
“Don’t tell Jehan that.” She smiles.   
“Oh they won’t mind, they think you’re cute.” Courfeyrac has a teasing grin. Then he pushes himself up and holds out a hand. “Come on.”  
“Where are we going?”   
“We are going to talk to Éponine.”   
“We..?” Combeferre looks up at him with what can only be described as fear in her eyes.   
“Yes, because you look slightly like you might die right now so…” Courfeyrac pulls her up, and into a dance hold, spins her around once, until she actually smiles, and then dances them over to the far table.   
“Are you trying to start a dance party?” Grantaire asks, raising an eyebrow at them. “Or just coming up with new inventive ways of getting around?”  
“I’m persuading ‘Ferre to actually dance.”  
“Could you do the same to Enj’? He’s basically refused ever since the do.” Grantaire chuckles, looking across to his boyfriend fondly. Courfeyrac’s eyes light up a little, in a way that probably should be concerning.   
“Éponine, you look like a dancing gal. Actually I know you’re a dancing gal… You take over here and I’ll go drag the serious one for some actual fun.” Courfeyrac holds out Combeferre’s hand to Éponine who smiles kindly.   
“Well seeing as you ask so nicely…” She pulls herself up. “Good luck with Enjolras, I suspect after last time he won’t be up for much dancing.”   
“Enjolras doesn’t usually get that drunk.” Combeferre tells her as they spin out toward the empty space of the dance floor. “But if he always danced like that I’d persuade him to do it more often.”   
“You certainly have an eclectic group of friends. Lovely, but definitely all slightly mad.”   
“Well, you had quite the introduction. Completely in at the deep end.”   
“No it was fine, it was nice. I mean, now I know all your secrets and have as much blackmail material as I could ever need.” She chuckles. “Not that… I would ever do that.”   
“It’s fine, I mean that’s my prerogative as primarily the only sober one at any event.”  
“Miss ‘Ferre I didn’t think you were the type.” Éponine feigns surprise. Combeferre raises an eyebrow, holding back a laugh of her own. “Courfeyrac however does seem like the type for a set up.” Combeferre stops suddenly, feeling her stomach drop.   
“That- That’s not what this… He just-“ Combeferre trips.   
“That was very convincing.”   
“He was just trying to have some fun. You know how he is…” Éponine considers.  
“Let’s have a wander.” Combeferre’s about to protest, to come up with some excuse but Éponine’s fingers are warm around her own with a pleasant, light pull that draws her toward the marquee door. “You know Courfeyrac is great, but he really does wear his heart on his sleeve. Seriously, you should’ve expected this.”  
“Well… I had to have some hope didn’t I?” Éponine chuckles. “It’s not exactly a set up, we were just coming over to chat. And then… Dancing happened.”   
“This is nice though, it’s a different kind of chat.” Éponine walks past the small group of smokers and around the corner of the marque. “More private.” Combeferre feels a blush rise in her cheeks and laughs nervously.   
“Mhmmm…”   
“Go on then, what’s the thing here?”   
“It’s not a thing.” Combeferre says quickly, then sighs. Everything bubbles to the surface, with Éponine watching with understanding eyes that tell Combeferre she’s already figured it out. “Exactly… You’re just really lovely and you’ve been so kind since we met and you… Draw me to you. Wow that’s cheesy.” She impulsively moves to tuck a non-existent lock of hair into her hijab. “You’re attractive, to me, and confident and… Interesting and I’d like to get to know you better in some context. But it’s a bit complicated with everything so the type of context is a bit harder.” Éponine crosses her arms over her body against, Combeferre hopes, the chill, urging her on. “I realise I’ve just said all this without even knowing if you’re attracted to women.”   
“Well I am,” Éponine smiles in amusement, though it’d not unkind. “I hadn’t realised you were.”   
“That’s the… Second complexity. Like as far as I was concerned I was more than a little asexual. I mean I still am, and romantically it’s usually been men but… There’s a definite crush feeling.”   
“Alright… I think you’re going to have to explain a few things and boundaries to me.”  
“I know it’s complicated-” Combeferre says, for a moment thinking Éponine will just give up on the entire thing, like others have in the past. Then Éponine holds out a hand to reassure her.   
“No, not complicated. I just want to be sensible and safe about things.”  
“You want there to be… Things?” Combeferre tries with a smile, and Éponine reaches out to take her hand gently.   
“Well I wouldn’t say no, if that’s what you wanted.” Éponine points out, and Combeferre sighs.   
“I do. I mean, I need to figure some things out. That’s all personal stuff. Not you, just… Me.”   
“You’re fine ‘Ferre.” Éponine smiles. “We can work things like that out.” Combeferre looks round to her, feeling more relaxed than she has all evening, in a week even. The reassurance that there’s nothing set in stone, that she doesn’t have to give an immediate answer or make her choice now but Éponine is interested. She decides to figure things out sooner rather than later.   
“I thought it was supposed to be the bridesmaid and best man that get together at weddings.” She smiles and Éponine chuckles to herself.   
“Well, it’s just like this group for the bridesmaids to do it instead.”   
“Should we head back in? You’re looking a little chilly.” Éponine’s dress is tied in a halter neck, leaving her arms bare and prickled with goosebumps.   
“If I can have another dance.”   
“Well… If it’ll stop you freezing to death I suppose I must…” Combeferre says with mock resignation, laughing as she pulls her back in to the marquee where Bahorel is looking devilish as he hands a request to the DJ. After a few moments the reason for his expression becomes clear as the first few notes of ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’ drift across the room and he sidles up to Feuilly who raises an eyebrow but is swiftly swept up into a dancers hold. Feuilly laughs as Bahorel waltz’s the pair with surprising finesse.   
“What is the deal with those two anyway?” Éponine asks with a smile.   
“They love each other, that’s for sure. The rest is working out how that love works.”   
“I like that. It’s how it should be.” Éponine smiles thoughtfully. “Fancy that dance?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is... Half of the reason I wrote this spin off. The other half comes next week after the honeymoon :L 
> 
> I also couldn't resist the idea of Bahorel teasing Feuilly with 'Save the Last Dance', even though, lets be honest, it probably suits Feuilly's side of the relationship better :L


	5. 3 Weeks In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Marius had some big news.” Courfeyrac begins.   
> “Is this the good kind?”  
> “Yes, well no… Maybe, depending on how you look at it. It’s not quite news I suppose more a question. For me.”

“Hey.” Courfeyrac grins as Marius makes his way to the table, just inside the door of the café. Courfeyrac is always early, he doesn’t mean to be but he always over estimates how much time he needs and ends up at least 5 minutes early. He’s been browsing one of the newspapers, though it’s a tabloid so mostly he’s been finding things to send to Enjolras with appropriate captions.   
“Hey, you made it.” Lunch had been Marius’s idea, but Courfeyrac was only too happy to oblige his old housemate having not seen him for over three weeks, with he and Cosette’s honeymoon – though he has had a great many pictures sent his way.   
“Course I did, wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”   
They settle quickly and order their usual, the waitress knows their names by now. Chatting is idle, minor catch ups, the news, their friends, work, Paris. When Courfeyrac’s about half way through his soup Marius sets down his Panini and looks serious. It’s an impressive look for him, which only accentuates the odd situation. Courfeyrac’s brow furrows a little, his confusion not helped by Marius’s next sentence.   
“You probably… Well of course you know that Cosette and I are thinking of starting a family.”  
“Well yeah, to be honest I thought you’d be the first settled down with 2.4 kids until Enjolras and Grantaire put a spanner in that works.”  
“Mmm… Well, there is another complication.” Marius picks up a crisp, fiddles with it, then puts it back down as he ponders. Courfeyrac doesn’t interrupt his thoughts, but watches closely. “You probably thought that I ended up at your group by chance. You know, I ran into Bossuet and then you and it all spiralled from there but I didn’t have much personal investment in the group.” Courfeyrac doesn’t answer either way, there’s a but to be added. “I was actually trying to find the group that night, I hoped you might help me and you did. I have Klienfelter syndrome, which I’m sure Feuilly’s told you about. It’s a hormonal thing, but it comes under the intersex umbrella. It comes with a variety of symptoms but today the one that matters is that… Well I’m infertile.”  
“Oh I hadn’t- I mean I’m sorry…” He hadn’t been expecting that, that’s for sure. He has a vague recollection of the syndrome, from years ago when Feuilly took a meeting on intersexuality but he’d not even thought of the fact that Marius might have a reason for being at the group other than his friends. And infertility had been the furthest thing from his mind. Somewhere he dimly wonders where this is going. Marius smiles and picks up a crisp.   
“It’s okay, I never mentioned it. To be honest by the time I got comfortable with the group it was the last thing on my mind. As a teen it had been a bit more of an issue. I developed differently, put on weight in the wrong places, and I already had my disability to contend with… those were probably the toughest years. I knew it was a possibility from a young age, and then as a teen I was told my sperm count was, for all intents and purposes, zero. So I resigned myself to no biological children ages ago. And of course it was tough at first but you learn to live with these things, but… Well Cosette and I have talked about adoption and we would love to but I know Cosette always dreamed of having a baby, her own baby.”   
There’s a pause as Marius chews and Courfeyrac processes, his soup growing cold on his spoon.   
“We discussed the possibility of a sperm donor.” Cogs whir. “We both agreed if we did it we’d prefer it to be someone we knew and trusted.” Something clicks, soup drips heavily back into the bowl. “You’re my best friend, and I don’t want you to feel pressured at all, if you’re not comfortable we can ask elsewhere. But we wanted to ask you first.”  
“Oh…” Is all he can muster.   
“It just made sense, to us.”  
“You want me to… Be your child’s biological father?”  
Mmm…”  
“That’s um…”  
“It’s a big ask, and obviously there are logistics-“  
“Logistics yes. What would you- I mean… The baby? What would you tell them?”  
“Whatever you were comfortable with. Obviously we’d be honest and tell them that I couldn’t have kids but after that it’s up to you. You can be involved or just an uncle. Whatever you felt up to.”  
“But if you told them…” Courfeyrac runs it over in his head. “How would that even work?”  
“You could have access, like on weekends or something. Anything. And first dibs on babysitting or whatever you wanted. We wouldn’t keep you from being involved. You could come to stay even if you wanted, in the first days.”  
“Oh… Uh wow.”  
“You don’t have to say yes.”  
“I need to think. Oh Christ, I need to talk to Jehan… How would they even fit in…”  
“Well, I guess it would be the same as for you. They can be as close as they want to be. Have you discussed kids yet..?”  
“No… We’ve not… Oh…” Courfeyrac’s spoon drops into his soup and green splashes across the table. “Sorry.” He stammers.   
“No don’t, it was probably too big-a-ask.” Marius shoots him a reassuring smile, but there’s sadness there.  
“I will think about it Marius, I will. I promise, I’m just not processing properly right now and I really, really need some time to think and talk things over.”  
“I know, that’s fine.” Courfeyrac nods, and stares down at a soup stain on his trousers. Then he draws his thoughts together a little more so he can meet Marius’s eyes.  
“Do you mind if I..?”  
“Go?” Marius guesses.   
“I’ll call okay. I promise.”  
“I know.” Marius smiles. “Lunch is on me.” Courfeyrac shoots him a small smile as he pulls on his blazer and slings his bag over his shoulder.  
He walks for a while, takes the longer route down the high street that’s busy at the time, music seeping out of shops and cafes, then through the small green where the silence is broken by bird song and dogs barking. It’s then he realises that he can’t keep wandering like this, that even focussing on all the people around him isn’t keeping his mind occupied. He needs to talk about this, to spill everything. His mind goes first to Combeferre, because she’s good with advice, then to Enjolras because, well, he has experience. He stops at the edge of the green, staring at the garage in front of him, and realises the only person he really wants to spill all this to right now is Jehan. His feet have taken him most of the way home without thinking, so he does the rest, walks along the road as trains shunt above him, then under the bridge until he reaches the skinny building on the corner. It’s not the home he chose, it was entirely Jehan’s until a few years ago, but it reassures him anyway. The dark brown of the stone, the shops below, even the stairwells make him think of what he now has, and he manages an actual smile. The flat is long, the kitchen at the far end, their bedroom at the other. The beams of the ceiling are draped with cloth and fairy lights, and he relaxes a little as he focusses on the collages of the wall, the patchwork sofa, the mix match of rugs littering the terracotta floors. It’s not perfect, the lift rattles against the wall of their room, the road outside can be noisy, but it’s home. When Jehan looks up from the coffee table, where they’re fiddling around with an activity they’ve been planning for next week, Courfeyrac relaxes that little bit more.   
“Hey.”  
“Hey! How was lunch?” They push themselves up and stretch, then frown. “What happened? You’re white as a sheet.”   
“Oh- Oh am I?”   
“Mhmm…” They cross the space to him and takes his face in their hands gently, standing high on their tiptoes to kiss his forehead. “Do you want a cuppa?”  
“Please.”   
“Go sit down, I’ll be out in a mo.” Courfeyrac shrugs his blazer off and lays it over the arm of the sofa, trying to gather his thoughts together as he unlaces his shoes. It doesn’t entirely work, everything he’s been going over only partly forming full sentences. Jehan reappears with two mugs and a plate of biscuits on a plate, placing them in the middle of their mess before they settle properly. “What’s up?”   
“Well… Marius had some big news.” Courfeyrac begins.  
“Is this the good kind?”  
“Yes, well no… Maybe, depending on how you look at it. It’s not quite news I suppose more a question. For me.” He picks up a biscuit only to pull the layers apart compulsively rather than actually eat it.   
“Which was..?” Jehan prompts after a few moments of silence.   
“They um… Marius is infertile and so he asked if I would, if I, we, were comfortable… If I would be his sperm donor.” It comes out in a rush, without any of the finesse or explanation of Marius’s question, rather more haphazard and stunted. Jehan pauses.   
“Oh.”  
“And obviously I said I needed to talk to you and discuss it and think about what this would mean for us, and how I would want things to happen or… Anything like that. But I don’t even know where to start with it at all. And… It really, I mean I couldn’t even think but I couldn’t tell him that I was freaked out! So I just…”   
“What are you thinking?” Jehan murmurs, sipping their tea. They don’t give a response or expression either way, sitting back and letting him go through all this before they start on their own thoughts.   
“I don’t…” He cups his tea in his hands, letting the warmth seep into his fingers. The heat gives him something to focus on. “He said I can be as involved as I want, you too. I can be just an uncle, or I can be another Dad and have them on weekends if I want. I could stay there or… And- But- But it’s a kid. I mean we’ve not discussed kids at all yet and this would be so much more complex. I just… What’s the legal shit that goes with all this?! What if they split up or we fell out or-“ He’s rambling now, Jehan obviously realises he’s gone into panic mode because they reach across to squeeze his hand gently.   
“Darling, these are things you’d have to deal with as you come to them. Marius studied law, he will have thought this through. Cosette too, they’re sensible.”  
“What do you think?” He asks.   
“This isn’t about me.”   
“But I value your thoughts.” Jehan exhales over the surface of their tea, sipping as they think.   
“Okay… I think this might be an opportunity. I know we’ve not discussed kids yet but I’ve always thought that…” Jehan pauses, obviously thinking of how to phrase something. “I wouldn’t be comfortable carrying a baby, that’s not me so… Well when we did talk I was going to suggest adoption. Because you would be such a good father, and I want to have kids with you, just I can’t… Necessarily provide that biologically.” They pause, and close their eyes as they sip. The calm of the scene reassures him a little, despite the silence. “So if you wanted to do this and be involved I wouldn’t stop you. I’d be happy to support you through it and have the kid over when you wanted. Or we could just be Uncle and Untie like we are with Alexis, you know, whatever feels right.”  
“Really..?”  
“Mhmm. I mean sure it’s a little bit more complex than normal but they obviously feel comfortable asking you. And… I think I’m comfortable with you saying yes, if you choose to.” They smile, leaning against him.   
“I don’t know… Well I’m not sure how you would start, that’s all. It was so out of the blue, I didn’t even know Marius had any issues with this so when he said it, well I guess it was such a shock I’ve not been able to process.” He nibbles the edge of his biscuit at last. “But it would be good to be able to help them out.” He chews his lip. “But then, I don’t know how much I would be involved. What if I said I didn’t want to be a Dad and then… Fell in love.”  
“Then be a Dad.” Jehan smiles. “If you want to do this then let’s make it work.”  
“I’ll think. Properly, and then we can think about what to tell them.” Courfeyrac sighs. “This was not how I pictured today going.”   
“It’s alright.” Jehan takes his hand, twining their fingers together. “It’s a bolt from the blue but it’s out in the open now. And we don’t have to be anywhere.” They press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Do you want to do some crafting?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the primary reasoning I had for writing this story - other than introducing Éponine - and also where the title comes from  
> I've tried to deal with this sensitively, and will be exploring it further later on, so I hope you enjoy and feel free to ask about it!


	6. 4-13 Weeks In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I was thinking about kids.”  
> “Evidently.” Enjolras has placed down his food now, to better consider him. “You and Jehan?”  
> “No, no… They don’t want biological children.” Enjolras’s expression shifts further into confusion. “Marius and Cosette. They’re struggling and asked me if… I would be their sperm donor.”  
> "Oh."

He’s decided to take the week, seek more advice and then make his decision. He’s spent most evenings scouring articles, blogs and pages for similar situations and advice from others. It proves remarkably helpful, and reasonably positive, and Jehan reads over his shoulder while they type up lesson plans and objectives.  
On Thursday he decides he needs advice from an outside source, and asks Marius if he’d be allowed to share the situation. Permission given he invites Enjolras out to lunch, and Combeferre the next day, seeking advice separately and then together after Fridays meeting.  
Courfeyrac has a remarkable sense of déjà vu as he sits in the restaurant, waiting for his friend. Enjolras waves through the window, smiling widely as he makes his way through to the table.  
“Courfeyrac, sorry a meeting ran on. I hope you’re not too hungry?”  
“No, not at all. I’ve not yet looked over the menu.” He reassures him, handing a spare over. “But I’m assured the food is good by Bossuet.”  
As they eat he brings up the topic at hand, carefully and methodically.  
“How’s Alexis doing with pre-school?”  
“Oh she loves it, she’s far more outgoing than I ever was. And she has Adeona there too, and they get on brilliantly even with the age gap.” He smiles with the fondness that comes to his face when he speaks of her. “Well, it not being every day helps too, or I suspect she’d exhaust herself.”  
“You’ve really fitted in to fatherhood.” Courfeyrac comments. “You… Feel you made the right choice?”  
Enjolras frowns, watching him with a worry in his eyes.  
“Of course, it’s not always easy but it’s worth it.”  
“You’d do it again?”  
“I…” Enjolras pauses to think. “Well I suppose I would yes. Why are you asking all this?”  
“I was thinking about kids.”  
“Evidently.” Enjolras has placed down his food now, to better consider him. “You and Jehan?”  
“No, no… They don’t want biological children.” Enjolras’s expression shifts further into confusion. “Marius and Cosette. They’re struggling and asked me if… I would be their sperm donor.”  
“Oh.”  
“Yes. It’s… Well complicated. But they’ve reassured me that I can play whatever role I want. Uncle or father.”  
“And Jehan?”  
“They have given their blessing, if I decide to go forward with it.”  
“What do you think?”  
“I don’t-“ He pauses, and realises Enjolras will never accept that as an answer. “I have some concerns. It’s not conventional, there’s three parties to worry about which means there’s different relationships to worry about. I mean if they separated where does that leave me? Or if we fell out even, it does happen.”  
“You want to be a father then, not just an uncle?”  
“I-“ Enjolras smiles kindly. “Yes. I don’t think I could be that close and not be involved somehow.” A nod. “And I would love kids, however it happens. And I know this would make them so happy and I’d love to provide that…” He takes his glass to turn it in his hands. “I just wanted some advice from someone who is a father, and went through a lot of… Unconventional things.” He words carefully. “With the platonic element I mean. Like how you expected that to work if you hadn’t got together.”  
“I suspect it would have worked slightly like a divorcee relationship. But you can’t tell the future so I doubt that will be any help to you.”  
“But if you’d ended up in other relationships.” Courfeyrac presses, Enjolras exhales.  
“Alright, then I would hope we’d still be friendly, or at least have been able to be civil for Alexis. The child is the important thing here, you do what’s best for them. And I know you would.” He pauses to sip his coffee, then pulls his lip back between his teeth. “I don’t think you came looking for advice, did you?”  
“I value your advice.”  
“I know you do. But what you’re looking for is reassurance. That you’re making the right choice and doing the right thing for those involved. I think… I think you’ve all but made up your mind and I won’t change that.”  
“You’d support me though?” Courfeyrac asks, and there’s such concern in his eyes, a nervous fear that makes his dark eyes seem so much wider, that Enjolras reaches out to touch his hands.  
“I’ll always support you, especially on this. Because I can see how important it is for you to do this. You’ve been there so much for me, and I know you’re going to be fantastic, so please don’t look so scared.” He squeezes Courfeyrac’s hand gently and gets a slight smile. “And I can tell you from experience you’ll have the best support in the world.” 

Courfeyrac toys with the knives and forks on the table, turning them over, straightening them, turning them again. Jehan watches from the kitchen, wishing there was more to do to soothe him. He’s been up in the air all day, pacing around the apartment, dragging Jehan out on a walk after they did their shopping and fiddling with everything in sight – from Jehan’s fingers to the cans in the supermarket. They place down the spoon in their hand and move to touch his arm.  
“It’s going to be okay. You know that.” They tell him, wrapping their arms around his waist. Courfeyrac’s hands come to rest on their own with a sigh.  
“I know… It’s just big you know.”  
“Of course, but the good kind of big.” They smile, kissing his cheek. “You’re going to make them so happy.”  
“It’s still nerve-wracking, I mean I’m giving them a kid…”  
“And that’s amazing.” Jehan reminds him, and Courfeyrac turns to face them properly so he can place a kiss on their lips – who it’s to reassure they’re not sure. Behind the pair the doorbell rings and Courfeyrac sighs.  
“Okay, let’s do this.” Jehan kisses him lightly once more before taking his hand, Courfeyrac’s hand shakes a little as they head to the door but he bursts into a smile when he opens it to their friends. Cosette kisses them both on each cheek, while Marius gives them both one of his customary tight squeeze of a hug. “It’s great to see you both again.”  
“We only saw you yesterday.” Cosette teases, and Courfeyrac mock swoons.  
“Even that is too long to spend apart chéri.”  
“He doesn’t even get this emotional for me.” Jehan folds their arms with an amused smile.  
“Well I ha- get to spend every day with you.” Courfeyrac shoots them one of his charmer smiles and Jehan raises an eyebrow slightly. “Dinner?” Courfeyrac asks sweetly.  
“Lucky for you.” Marius nudges him, and Courfeyrac kisses Jehan’s forehead before he moves toward the kitchen to begin getting things sorted. Jehan holds back a smile at their utterly ridiculous boyfriend, offering the pair a drink.  
Courfeyrac seems to be waiting for the perfect moment to bring up the conversation at hand, though Jehan is utterly certain Marius and Cosette know exactly why they’re there. Courfeyrac pushes a potato around his plate as he contemplates when to start, where to start.  
“Alright.” He says eventually, seeking Jehan’s hand under the table. “Alright, you probably know why I asked you to dinner tonight. Well, it could hardly be more obvious given recent… Conversations.”  
“You’ve come to a decision regarding being a donor?” Marius asks carefully, with surprising reassurance. Courfeyrac feels the flicker of a smile twitching at his lips.  
“I’ve put a lot of thought in, we’ve put a lot of thought in.” He adds. “And I…” A deep breath in. “Okay, I want to help you.”  
“Is there a but?” Cosette looks worried. “That sounded like there was a but.”  
“No. No but, exactly. I just want to make sure things are all okay. Like, I don’t look like Marius, or you Cosette so… Well neither will the baby.”  
“Courf that’s… We know that.” Cosette smiles. “I know neither of us are scientists but we do have a basic understanding of genetics.” Courfeyrac chuckles quietly.  
“I know, I know. It’s just such a marked difference, I thought you might want someone who looked more like… You.”  
“We asked you for a reason.” Marius points out. “You’re our closest friend, we trust you and, well. There’s no-one I’d rather do this with.”  
“That means a lot.” Courfeyrac relaxes considerably, his grip on Jehan’s fingers loosening as he continues. “How do we want this to work, exactly? Legally speaking.”  
“Well, legally, Cosette and I would be the parents.” Marius starts. “But that wouldn’t mean that you wouldn’t be allowed to be a father, not by any means. We’d love that to happen-“ He pauses. “If that’s actually what you… Want.” He tails off awkwardly.  
“It is.” Courfeyrac smiles. “As long as I get to be fun dad.” Cosette snorts. “And I won’t stand in your way on decisions, not like school or things, but if something serious-“  
“Courf we’re not going to block you out.” Cosette pats the hand holding his fork. “We want you to be as involved as you want to be.”  
“I really appreciate how accommodating you’re being.”  
“You’re talking about giving us a child.”  
“Well it works differently for other people.” Courfeyrac points out.  
“But we have quite a few lawyer friends.” Cosette reassures him. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure it’s all down on paper.”  
“How are we talking about actually… Conceiving this baby?” Jehan asks suddenly. They’ve been quiet, letting the three main players sort themselves out because they’ve already told Courfeyrac most of their thoughts, and he’s taken them into consideration in his concerns, but they know the question of conceiving can affect things legally. And someone has to ask the awkward question, and they’re not too shy to do it, well, it’s not their genitals being discussed either which probably helps. Marius goes pink around the ears, but Cosette takes it in her stride.  
“Privately, preferably. It’s simple enough if I keep track of my fertility, so unless we need other help that would be the ideal. So you come round, give us a sample…” She words carefully. “And then hopefully we can get things moving.”  
“Seems simple enough.” Jehan nods, because the two other men around the table seem too awkward to actually say anything. “And repeat if necessary I assume?”  
“It’s likely yes. But you could be there too if you two would prefer.”  
“Oh.” Jehan can feel the blush on their chest. “Well I suppose I could…” Cosette chuckles.  
“You’ve all gone pink. Am I the only one here who can talk about sex without acting like a teenager?”  
“It’s not talking about sex ‘sette.” Courfeyrac laughs, but the flush stays high in his cheeks. “It’s the fact you’re going to know what I’m doing.” 

Courfeyrac can sense his words coming back to haunt him as he stands in Cosette and Marius’s guest bedroom. He and Jehan are staying the night, having had dinner he’s run out of reasons to stall but his mind keeps wandering back to the trio sitting in the living room downstairs.  
It’s been a couple of months of organising, getting paperwork drawn up, checking things over, getting tests done to make sure they’re both clear for genetic diseases. He hadn’t entirely factored in how complex getting started was going to be, and now he’s actually here, staring at the bed, he feels strangely underprepared.  
Underprepared and self-conscious.  
He’s still staring at the bed after ten minutes, the weight of the jar heavy in his hand, and he decides there’s only one thing to do. It might be more awkward, but at least it should take his mind of some of the things plaguing him. He texts Jehan, places his phone and the jar down and waits until he hears someone on the stairs.  
“Hello.” Jehan smiles as they slip through the door, and already there’s a slight flirt in his eyes.  
“I- I can’t.”  
“Can’t what?” Jehan asks carefully, their face more serious instantly.  
“They’re sitting downstairs…” Courfeyrac murmurs awkwardly. Jehan lets out a small ‘oh’, and exhales in relief.  
“Well, that’s easily remedied.” They tug gently on the front of his shirt, pulling him toward them.  
“Jehan-“  
“No, no. Close your eyes.”  
“I don’t-“ Courfeyrac begins, but Jehan kisses him gently and his eyes flutter shut.  
“Now, we’ve just had a wonderful meal and we’re treating ourselves. A night away, a hotel room, just us.” They purr. “And I’ve been playing footsie with you all evening just waiting to get away.” Their leg slips between his, hooking him even closer as they lean against the wall. “And now we’re here and I am… Gasping to just kiss you, again and again and then…” Their leg slides a little further up and Courfeyrac’s breath catches. “Oh…”  
“How do you do that?” Courfeyrac mutters, Jehan planting a kiss on his jaw.  
“Do what?” Jehan asks innocently, tracing a hand down his chest.  
“I don’t like you.”  
“Oh now that is a lie.” Jehan grins, pulling him into a firm kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back again! With so much awkwardness, I'm so sorry... :L


	7. 15-27 Weeks In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His phone rings at 7am, Courfeyrac blearily slapping the bedside table in a desperate search for the offending item. Next to him Jehan mumbles something as they reach for their own phone as the alarm begins to blare.   
> “Mm-“ His voice cracks, and he takes a moment to compose himself properly. “Hello?”   
> “’Fey!” Cosette sounds far too cheery for this time in the morning, and far, far too awake.   
> “Yes..?”

His phone rings at 7am, Courfeyrac blearily slapping the bedside table in a desperate search for the offending item. Next to him Jehan mumbles something as they reach for their own phone as the alarm begins to blare.   
“Mm-“ His voice cracks, and he takes a moment to compose himself properly. “Hello?”   
“’Fey!” Cosette sounds far too cheery for this time in the morning, and far, far too awake.   
“Yes..?” He manages.   
“Oh, did you not have work today?” She sounds like she’s frowning.   
“No, I do. I just… The alarm hadn’t gone off yet. It’s fine, why are you up this early Mrs self-employed?”   
“I have a wedding later so I’m up early to finish decorating the cake. But I didn’t call you to ask your opinion on fondant so maybe I’ll make up for waking you up…”   
“Alright…”  
“I’m, well I’m pretty sure I am… Well, pregnant!” Courfeyrac sits bolt upright in bed, nearly sending Jehan toppling over the edge of the mattress.   
“You’re what?”   
“You know, what we’ve been aiming for the last couple of months?” She chuckles. “Not far along I’ll admit, but I took the test and it’s positive.”  
“I- I don’t. Wow… How are you feeling?”   
“Really good actually… If I hadn’t been keeping an eye on everything I might not have even noticed… Not particularly nauseous or light headed… I might regret saying that soon but there we are…” She sounds like she’s beaming nonetheless.   
“That’s great ‘sette! I can’t even process this right now but… Okay I’ll be around after work. Okay? See you then.” He places the phone down to Jehan’s questioning look peering out from beneath their bed-head hair. “Cosette’s pregnant.” He grins, and their expression dissolves into a wide grin.  
“You’re serious?” Courfeyrac nods, and Jehan envelopes him in a tight hug, sending them both falling back against the pillows in a giggling pile. Jehan kisses him firmly. “Congratulation’s.” 

~~~

Marius and Cosette, having the largest house now, have been nominated to hold this years’ Halloween party. She’s told Courfeyrac and Jehan to get there a little early, so they knock on the door half an hour before everyone else is due to arrive only to find themselves confronted by a slightly robotic looking Cosette.   
“Tada!” She grins, holding out her hands. Upon closer inspection the costume is a clever baby announcement, she has a crop top with various buttons and timers painted on, her face pale silvery white and her lower half clad in pale jeans. Her stomach, however, is painted with a loaf of bread and Courfeyrac bursts out laughing.   
“Clever.”  
“I wanted an amusing way of telling everyone, and then Marius made a joke about it so… Here we are.” She stands aside to let them both pass.   
“And how is everything?”  
“Still perfect ‘fey. The midwife says everything looks perfect on the scan.” She pats his cheek. “Don’t frown like that.”   
The four of them sit and chat for a while until the doorbell rings, then Cosette decides she wants to do a big reveal and vanishes upstairs leaving the rest of them to do the greeting. The costumes are assorted, some serious, some completely ridiculous. The trio have come as the Powerpuff Girls, complete with Bossuet in a rather fetching blonde wig. Alexis is a skeleton, but Enjolras confesses that it’s just a pair of pyjamas he found after he completely forgot to pick up a different costume. Which makes sense, seeing as his primary mode of costume is face paint this year, good face paint, but face paint nonetheless.   
“Cosette’s sorting out her hair.” Marius bluffs, surprisingly well, when Combeferre enquires – she’s managed to fashion her hijab into Harley Quinn bunches.   
“Hurry up!” Bahorel, a fetching Dorothy with Toto Feuilly who looks less than impressed every time Bahorel scratches behind his ‘ears’, booms up the stairs. “We’re all starving!”   
“Is everyone there already?” Cosette pops her head around the stairwell. Bahorel shrugs an affirmative. “Alright, I’m just coming.”  
“You want a drumroll?” He teases.   
“Actually, that’d be fun. Treat me like a runway model.” She grins, vanishing a moment as Bahorel finds some suitable music on his phone. She laughs the whole way through her dramatic spin out onto the landing, arms raised as she descends the stairs, ending in a wide grinned hair flick.   
“You’re not!” Éponine puts her hands on her hips in a mock protest.   
“Mhmm!”   
“I won’t cry at this one.” Bahorel says, turning his face toward Feuilly’s shoulder anyway.   
“Come on, go sit down and I’ll tell you everything!” Cosette shoos them excitedly. She gets everyone settled and dishing up at the table before she begins the story. “You all knew we were trying.”   
“Yeah, we just expected more ‘married life’ beforehand.” Musichetta teases.   
“It was a bit more complicated. We were having trouble so… Well, Courfeyrac” All eyes shift to him, fork halfway to his mouth. He feels he should wave. “He actually agreed to help us. So this little one is going to have three parents.   
“That’s great.” Joly’s smile is wide and understanding as Bossuet claps Courfeyrac on the back. “This group is a fan of unconventional isn’t it?” Zey chuckle.   
“You can say that again.”   
“How’s it been, so far?” Enjolras asks, obviously remembering his own nauseous Halloween.   
“It’s been really good, actually… I’ve felt pretty fine all along. We’re only about 15 weeks in though so I’m waiting for it all to change.”   
“If you haven’t had it by now you’re probably fine… Damn you.” He pouts, but there’s a teasing glint in his eye.   
“You must be due spring time?” Combeferre has obviously been calculating.   
“The uh… The midwife thinks it might be our wedding anniversary.” Marius holds back an amused smile.   
“How very romantic.” Éponine teases. “Most people go small gifts for that, you guys go all out.”   
“It was hardly intentional.” Cosette protests. “It just worked out like that. But I think it’s kind of sweet.”   
“Yeah, that’s just what I want to be doing on my anniversary.” Musichetta nudges Bossuet cheekily. “I can think of better things to be doing.”   
“You two are terrible.” Joly tells zir partners. 

“I’ve been thinking.” Enjolras says once they’ve settled on the sofa, still in costume. Alexis has only just agreed to go to bed, having fallen asleep on Enjolras’s shoulder on the tube home and then inevitably waking up as soon as they got nearly home. She’s still in her costume, but they managed to get the face paint off and her teeth brushed between them, so they’ll class it as a win. Grantaire glances across, they’re nearly facing each other, leaning back on the arms of the sofa, legs intertwined.   
“Always dangerous.” He teases automatically. Enjolras pulls a face at him, rolling his eyes.  
“Seriously. I uh…” He fiddles with his engagement ring. “I was thinking about kids.”  
“Us and kids?”  
“Mhmm…”  
“You mean you’re getting broody because of Cosette?”  
“No.” Enjolras protests.  
“Because I am a little.” Enjolras glances up in surprise.   
“Oh… Then yes, a little.”   
“What exactly… Kid wise..?”  
“I don’t exactly know.” Grantaire raises an eyebrow.  
“Well you used to talk about adopting.”  
“Yeah.” Enjolras smiles lightly. “I’d still like to but I’m not sure if now is the time.” Grantaire’s expression tells him to continue, intrigued. “Well… With Alexis nearly starting school and wedding planning maybe now’s not the time to get into something so complicated. So we can place all the focus on our current family. And I’m not sure if it would be fair to bring in a child who was older than Alexis, or to disrupt her like that. I guess I’m not sure if we’re ready to take on something like that because I’d love to be able to take in a kid who really needs a home, and a loving family but maybe not… Yet...”  
“Are you suggesting we have another biological child?”  
“Yeah…”   
“Oh… Are you, I mean… Are you sure?” Enjolras sighs, looking back at his hands.  
“I know last time was hard, and this time we’d have more to think about, different problems on top of the obvious. But I think I’d like to, that I can do it.”  
“I know you can.” Grantaire tells him, squeezing his hand firmly. “You dealt with everything so… Fantastically well last time. Far better than I think I ever could have if I’d been in your situation. And I know you can do it again, I just didn’t know if you… Wanted to.” He puts carefully. Enjolras considers, chewing his lip.  
“Well I didn’t know if I did for a long time. Having Alexis was amazing, but there was also that huge relief that it was over. But things are better now, people are better and we know we have this amazing support network. We’re in a far better place to do everything this time, I think. We’re settled, stable, we know what to expect…”  
“You don’t have to justify it to me.” Grantaire smiles. “I’d love to have another kid.” He leans across to place a tender kiss to Enjolras’s gently curved lips. “Especially if I get to do it all again with you.”  
“So I’ll talk to Shashi?”   
“Soon?”  
“Well it depends if you want to start trying after the wedding or not?   
“You expecting a honeymoon baby?” Grantaire shoots him an amused look.   
“No, no. It’s certainly going to be harder this time, my fertility is certainly not at the highest so we have to take that back into consideration and things. We probably won’t be that lucky a second time.” He smiles wryly. “So I thought if I talk to her now and sort things out things will be easier when we do start trying.”  
“You’ve been thinking about this a lot huh?” Enjolras glances across with one of his wide-eyed worried looks that he has when he thinks he’s missed something important.  
“I should have told you sooner-“  
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m glad you’ve thought about things this thoroughly.”   
“I still should have mentioned that I was thinking about it, and researching it…” Enjolras pulls his lip back between his teeth. “I feel like I’ve kept you in the dark and I never wanted to do that.”   
“You haven’t, you wanted to be sure before you brought it up.” Grantaire turns his head gently with his hand and Enjolras’s eyebrow cocks a little. “That’s fine you know, to be sure.”  
“So we’re trying?”   
“We will be, when we’re ready.” Enjolras smiles, the nervousness in his blue eyes giving way to a kind of excitement. “Do you want to get some practise in?” He smirks teasingly.   
“So cheeky, we’re not trying yet you know.” Grantaire pretends to consider.   
“I know, but the way I’m thinking isn’t going to have that worry.” Enjolras chuckles, rolling his eyes.   
“You’re an idiot.”   
“An idiot who knows what he wants.” Grantaire shrugs, then leans in to murmur in Enjolras’s ear, nipping at the lobe. “And that happens to be my incredible fiancé.”   
“Don’t try to sweet talk me.”   
“Oh come on, you can’t tell me you don’t enjoy it. Me and my sexy skeletal face.” He grins, kissing Enjolras’s jawline, just below the level of his face paint. “And Alexis is finally asleep… I’ll be quiet.”   
“You sure know how to woo a guy.” Enjolras raises an eyebrow. Grantaire presses another, white tinged kiss to his neck. Enjolras tilts his head back a little.   
“Better?” Grantaire trails kisses down his neck before bringing their lips together. Enjolras pushes a hand into his hair, and Grantaire feels his face paint smear, and he thinks briefly about how awkward the clean-up will be later and chuckles. Enjolras pulls back a little, and laughs himself, reaching across to wipe Grantaire’s lip.   
“Wow… You are so sexy right now.”   
“Shsh.” Grantaire pulls him onto his lap. “Just close your eyes and pretend okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been such a long delay, I'm sorry, I've just been settling back in to things! So I don't guarantee weekly updates at the moment, but hopefully they'll be semi-regular :)  
> Anyway, enjoy and Happy Halloween!

**Author's Note:**

> The next stage of Complications! There will be lots of other bits and bobs drawn into this story, not just the wedding :)  
> Toddler Alexis is so much fun to write though...


End file.
